Papers from the 3rd International SiGe Technology and Device Meeting (Princeton, New Jersey, USA, 15–17 May 2006) (ISTDM 2006)

Abstract

Silicon germanium (SiGe) technology is the driving force behind the explosion in low-cost, lightweight, personal communications devices such as digital wireless handsets, as well as other entertainment and information technologies such as digital set-top boxes, direct broadcast satellites (DBS), automobile collision avoidance systems, and personal digital assistants. Low power SiGe circuits extend the life of wireless phone batteries and allow smaller and more durable communication systems.The first paper on SiGe can be traced back to 1955 with work on the magnetoresistance of silicon germanium alloys [1]. The first mention of a SiGe device was actually in the original patent for the bipolar transistor where the idea of a SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) was discussed with a description of the physics in the 1950s [2]. Such a transistor required the epitaxial growth of Si/SiGe heterostructures and this was not demonstrated until 1975 by Kasper, Herzog and Kibbel at the then AEG Research Centre (now Daimler Chrysler) in Ulm, Germany using molecular beam epitaxy [3]. The late 1980s and 1990s saw significant improvements in the growth technique of mismatched SiGe epitaxial films, enabling SiGe devices to become a practical reality.Through this early work, silicon germanium has moved from the research laboratory to industrial production accounting for a significant percentage of manufactured semiconductor devices. Silicon germanium epitaxy has enabled the use of strained-layer silicon channels in transistors, an industry standard. Although the bulk of the new products based on SiGe are logic and amplifier type integrated circuits, the scope of SiGe is wider. Today, a surprising amount of research is being associated with such areas as opto, MEMs and nanotechnology for detectors, solar cells, laser diodes and radar systems. It is estimated that in 2006 the SiGe industry will generate $717.6 M.The papers published here represent a subset of those presented at the 3rd International SiGe Technology and Device Meeting held in Princeton from 15 to 17 May 2006. This conference followed on from two highly successful meetings held at Nagoya University in 2003 and in Frankfurt in 2004. The topics of the ISTDM 2006 conference included SiGe and other group IV materials such as SiGe:C and their selective growth, process technologies such as diffusion control and gate dielectrics, device issues regarding bipolar and field effect transistors and optical devices, circuits for logic communication and mixed signals, and applications such as wireless, imaging, sensing and radar.The organizers of the conference were pleased to present two plenary talks (Gary Patton of IBM and Lionel Kimerling of MIT) on SiGe developments and 19 invited talks during the three days, along with 53 short contributions and 46 posters presentations. These talks showed that there is a thriving academic and industrial research community in this field.The papers in this issue cover important areas that are currently under intense development: strained Si FETs and CMOS, HBT devices and circuits, germanium devices, optoelectronics, quantum devices, selective epitaxy and patterned structures, heterostructure growth, novel characterization, novel structures, process technology, and virtual and engineered substrates. We hope that the readers of this issue will find these papers to be interesting, informative, and useful as overviews on the best and latest developments in this vibrant, evolving technology.Guest Editors J Sturm, Princeton University, USA E Fitzgerald, MIT, USA S Koester, IBM, USA J Kolodzey, University of Delaware, USA J Murota, Tohoku University, Japan D Paul, Cambridge University, UK B Tillack, IHP, Germany S Zaima, Nagoya University, Japan B Ghyselen, SOITEC, France S Takagi, University of Tokyo, Japan References[1] Glickman M 1955 Phys. Rev. 100 1146 (doi:10.1103/PhysRev.100.1146 )[2] Kroemer H 1957 Proc. IRE 45 1535 [3] Kasper E, Herzog J-H and Kibbel H 1975 Appl. Phys. 8 199 (doi:10.1007/BF00896611 )Corrections were made to the list of Guest Editors on 14 December 2006. The corrected electronic version is identical to the print version.